On the Record

Chapter 7

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

Earth to Liz. Earth to Liz,” Sava

“What? Oh, yeah, sorry. Zoned out, I guess,” Liz muttered.

“Happens. I was just about to get out of here. Are you finished?” Sava

Liz stared at her computer blankly. Well, she wasn’t going to get any work done now. “Yeah, I suppose I am.”

She started packing her bag up while her mind worked overtime. Who the hell was Erin Edwards? The girl could be a stunt, but Brady had said that he wouldn’t ever let Heather go that far. She couldn’t pick someone for him to date . . . for him to marry. He agreed to be set up for events out of convenience, but that was where he drew the line. How had they met? Did he still think about Liz?

No, it clearly didn’t matter.

“Is he dating that girl?” Liz blurted out before she could stop herself.

Sava

“Liz . . . you know I can’t talk about it. It’s a conflict of interest if I tell you and then you write about it. Sorry.”

“No, I know,” Liz said. She sighed and looked away, hoping Sava

Damn. How had she kept her tone neutral? Brady Maxwell was never old news. He was so hot that she could put him in any paper and make people read about him, but she didn’t, because most of the time it just hurt too much. And really, he had just gotten into office, so there wasn’t much to cover. Either way, she just hoped she could convince Sava

“None taken,” Sava

“Yeah, I bet that’s hard,” Liz said. Sava

“It is sometimes. I know you’ve heard some of his speeches about not wanting to leave North Carolina, and that’s not him spitting bullshit. He really did want to stick close. He made sure to still spend time with me, especially after Clay left,” Sava

“That’s sweet of him,” Liz managed. She and Sava

Little did she know.

Sava

Yes, it most certainly was.

They both turned to exit the newspaper together, but just before they reached the double doors of the mostly empty office, Liz stopped Sava

Oh man, she was going to go all out, wasn’t she?

“And I know what my articles said about him last summer,” Liz said. She couldn’t believe she was about to do this. “But I changed my mind.”

“What do you mean?”

“I was wrong about him and his behavior, and I ended up voting for him in the election.”

“You did?” Sava

“I didn’t really talk about it with anyone. It’s kind of a personal thing.”

“Wow. That’s . . . unexpected.” She broke into a big smile. “I don’t know why, but I feel like a huge weight just lifted off my shoulders. Is that weird?”

Liz laughed and shook her head. “No.”

“It feels weird.”

“Well, I’m still glad I told you.”

“Me too.”

“Just don’t tell anyone. I’d hate to ruin my reputation as a hard-ass,” Liz joked.

“My lips are sealed,” Sava

They walked down the stairs and out to the main lobby. The building looked like a ghost town. Liz rarely saw the Union look so deserted. She knew there was an away basketball game just a town over today, and it was a Friday, but it seemed exceptionally quiet. She walked outside with Sava

It was snowing.

Walking back from her meeting with Justin, she certainly hadn’t thought it was cold enough for snow. It only snowed in Chapel Hill once or twice a year, and it was never anything dramatic. But for someone who grew up in Tampa and never saw snow, it looked like a blizzard.

Sava

“Come on. Let’s go catch some!” she said, pulling Liz toward the Pit, where a cluster of other students were milling around and staring up at the sky.

“Um . . . snow and I do not get along,” Liz told her. She was already shivering with the cold sinking into her clothes. She hadn’t even brought a waterproof jacket and she was in heels, as usual. This was not going to be a fun walk home.

“Why would you wear heels today?” Sava

“I don’t know. I didn’t look at the weather.”

“Well, we’re supposed to get six inches by tonight, and then it’s supposed to ice over. Of course, this only ever happens on the weekend.”

Liz shuddered. Last winter there had been less than six inches of snow in Chapel Hill and they had closed school for three days, because the roads were impassable. It was a huge problem when the town only had a handful of snowplows.

“Of course, and now I have to walk home in this,” Liz groaned.

“Do you want me to give you a ride?” Sava

“Oh my God, I would love you forever!”

“It’s kind of a walk, but I was just happy I got one,” Sava

Then the thought caught up with her. “Wait, you’re a freshman. How did you get a parking spot?”

She wasn’t sure why she even asked. It was pretty obvious. Sava

“Um . . . the chancellor and my father are old friends.”

“Ah . . .”

Liz wasn’t going to argue with their favoritism today. Today she was just glad that she didn’t have to walk home.

They reached the parking deck and Sava

God, why could she not escape Brady? She was surrounded by his family and he was constantly on the news. Just when she was moving past what had happened, he cropped right back up. And she just fucking wanted to know if he was dating that girl. She didn’t even care how stupid it was. It made her want to dial his number and demand to know . . . even though she knew she never could.

Liz didn’t live too far away. It would have been a bad walk, but it was an easy drive. The snow was coming down harder when Sava

“Thanks a lot,” Liz told her.

“Anytime. Hopefully this sticks and we don’t have school next week, but otherwise I’ll see you on Monday.”